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International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Gathers in Bangkok to Condemn US-Backed War Crimes of Philippine State and Commit to Growing Solidarity Movement for a Just and Lasting Peace

ICHRP Secretariat
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<strong>International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Gathers in Bangkok to Condemn US-Backed War Crimes of Philippine State and Commit to Growing Solidarity Movement for a Just and Lasting Peace</strong>

Press Release
November 11, 2023

Bangkok, Thailand— Over 100 human rights advocates from over 30 organizations across the globe held a 3 day conference and assembly to decry the implementation of US counterinsurgency tactics in the Philippines and to advance international defense of human rights under the new Marcos regime. 

Throughout the conference, human rights experts exposed the ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including extra-judicial killings, disappearances, intensifying suppression of civil liberties, slanderous designation of respected leaders as terrorists via the Anti-Terror Act (ATA), and relentless red-tagging of activists, progressive organizations, and solidarity activists via the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Edith Burgos of the Karapatan National Council, identified the counterinsurgency programs of the Marcos government as, “responsible for the steadily deteriorating human rights situation in the Philippines and escalating violations of International Humanitarian Law directed against the Filipino people.”

Burgos’ criticism of Marcos counterinsurgency programs exposed the reality that the human rights atrocities committed by the Philippine military and police are not only aided and abetted by US military aid (over 1 billion US dollars since 2015) and the presence of nine US military bases in the country – but patterned after US counterinsurgency tactics. 

Suzanne Adely, President of the National Lawyers Guild, explained counterinsurgency as “the organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region.” She noted that the US has employed counterinsurgency tactics since its colonial operations in the Philippines began in 1898. She further pointed out how the use of the term “insurgency” attempts to delegitimize people’s resistance, including armed resistance, as “terrorism,” and drew parallels between the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and the Filipino people’s fight against the US-backed Marcos regime. 

Edre Olalia, President of the National Union of People’s Lawyers in the Philippines, explained the significance of International Humanitarian Law in the context of the current situation in the Philippines. Olalia expounded that contrary to US counterinsurgency doctrine, armed resistance movements in response to the severe oppression of peoples is legal under the Geneva conventions, and further emphasized the importance of the protection of civilians and non combatants in the context of civil war.  

ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy emphasized the critical role of solidarity in supporting the Filipino people’s aspirations for a just and lasting peace that is free from the injustice of poverty, landlessness, and state repression. He reflected on ICHRP’s role in investigating and exposing the dire human rights situation as well as coordinating an election observers mission which found massive fraud, vote-buying, and red-tagging and intimidation during the 2022 elections. 

“The devastating number of attacks that continue under the Marcos regime in the Philippines – the many disappearances, the forced surrenderees, and the killings of NDFP peace consultants, are all violations of international humanitarian law done in the guise of US-designed counterinsurgency programs. The international community must oppose these.”

Organizations from Canada to India, France to Australia committed to strengthening solidarity support for the Filipino people, continuing to conduct broad education and information dissemination on the situation in the Philippines, lobby their respective government bodies, and oppose foreign support for war crimes in the country. 

“The struggle for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines is not a struggle isolated from the people of the world; we will continue to fervently campaign until the demands of the Filipino people are met and activists no longer live in fear of reprisal.” 

For comment: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, ICHRP Global Council +61 418 312 301

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Registration now closed for ICHRP Conference and General Assembly

ICHRP Secretariat
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Registration now closed for ICHRP Conference and General Assembly

Registration is now closed for the upcoming Conference and 4th General Assembly of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, which is only two weeks away. The conference will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 6 to 9, 2023. For those who have already registered, we look forward to having you join us next month!

One week left to register for ICHRP Conference and 4th General Assembly

ICHRP Secretariat
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One week left to register for ICHRP Conference and 4th General Assembly

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) will be holding an in-person conference, including its 4th General Assembly, later this year. The conference will take place from November 6 to 9, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. It will feature guest speakers and workshops on the struggle for human rights in the Philippines, cultural performances, and strategic planning for the future of ICHRP. The conference program will be focused on counter-insurgency, international humanitarian law, and the path towards peace.

In order that we can accurately predict our needs for the conference, registration will end on October 23rd, 2023. After this point, it will no longer be possible to register for the conference. If you intend to join the conference and GA, please ensure that you register using the link below within the next week, before the deadline.

For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.

Register now for Faith Leaders Are Not Terrorists: The Impact of Red-tagging on the Faith Community in the Philippines

ICHRP Secretariat
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Register now for <em>Faith Leaders Are Not Terrorists: The Impact of Red-tagging on the Faith Community in the Philippines</em>

When: Oct 12, 2023, at 6am PDT / 9am EDT / 3pm CEST / 9pm PHT.
Topic: Faith Leaders Are Not Terrorists: The Impact of Red-tagging on the Faith Community in the Philippines
Register in advance for this webinar at ichrp.net/Oct12Webinar

Friends in faith,

We are pleased to announce the next event in the calendar of the ICHRP International Interfaith Network, a network of dozens of faith organizations and individuals from around the world who are united in defending human rights in the Philippines.

This upcoming webinar is part of our initiative to expose the impacts of red-tagging on the faith community and the ongoing work of ICHRP. It will feature guest speakers from the Philippines and abroad who will talk about the tactic of red-tagging, its connection to counter-insurgency and international humanitarian law, and its impacts on the faith community in the Philippines and across the world.

As part of the webinar, we will end with a discussion on what you can do in your community to help highlight and help resist the instances of red-tagging on the faith community in the Philippines. We encourage you to register to learn more about how you can take part in this campaign.

International human rights group condemns Philippine police execution of trade union organiser Jude Fernandez

ICHRP Secretariat
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International human rights group condemns Philippine police execution of trade union organiser Jude Fernandez

Press Release

October 7, 2023

“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) expresses its anger and condemnation at the Philippine National Police for executing 67-year-old trade union organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez, in Rizal,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy today.

On the afternoon of September 29, 2023, a neighbour heard two gunshots and witnessed police carrying a body out of a house on a stretcher. On October 2, a Rapid Response Team from the Centre for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) was able to locate Fernandez’ body in a funeral parlour at Binangonan, Rizal, and confirm that elements of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) shot him while executing a search warrant. The police claimed “nanlaban” (he resisted) to justify this execution, even though Fernandez was unarmed. 

“Nanlaban” has been the routine explanation for over 30,000 police killings in alleged anti-drug operations over the last seven years.

The police have refused so far to release Fernandez’ body to his relatives, saying that there is a PhP2 million (USD35,306) bounty to be claimed for it before it can be released. The existence of a bounty indicates a targeted killing.

Jude Fernandez is the 72nd victim of labor-related killing since July 2016, and the fourth labor leader/organizer assassinated since the International Labour Organisation High Level Tripartite Mission visited the Philippines in January this year. The Marcos government at that meeting reportedly admitted that these political killings had occurred and promised to change its counter-insurgency strategy which defined trade unionism as terrorism. Nothing happened.

“ICHRP calls on the global community to join in condemning the ongoing slaughter of trade unionists and other human rights defenders in the Philippines, to work to end the brazen impunity of the Philippine government armed security forces. The different human rights violations committed against Fernandez; the right to life, the right to organize union and even the refusal to tender his remains clearly portray the anti-people characteristic of the Philippine government’s National Security Plan and a blatant non-respect to its signature to different international covenants and bodies of the United Nations,” said Murphy.

Relatives, CTUHR personnel, and different workers organizations have maintained a vigil over the body for the last two nights and days.

Jude Fernandez began organizing trade unions during the Marcos dictatorship and was a much-respected veteran organizer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU- May First Movement) Labor Center.

KMU likens this to the brutal killings of union leaders Dandy Miguel and Manny Asuncion in March 2021, Asuncion being one of the nine victims slain in the Bloody Sunday massacre.

Binangonan, Rizal province, is the area where Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo De Jesus, two Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders, were forcibly abducted by men who identified as working with the police, on April 28, 2023.

Justice for Jude Fernandez!

Immediate Independent Investigation of the killing of Jude Fernandez!

Abolish NTF-ELCAC and Repeal the Anti-Terrorism Law!

For further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301 chairperson@ichrp.net 

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